NASMuseum

On approach, the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum next to Washington, D.C.'s Dulles International Airport is great architecture:

That hanger is huge beyond belief!  Housed inside is everything from the Goodyear blimp's gondola to the famous planes from World Wars I and II, the supersonic Concorde from Air France and the S.S. Discovery.  These are all the real deal, folks, not replicas, not 3/4 models.  It is really stunning stuff.

Parking was $15, but if you take a car full of people and entrance to the museum is free then it isn't too bad.  There is a nifty sculpture named Ascent in the parking area:

I love its simplicity and elegance.  The panels on either side of the walkway list the names of people who are dedicated to flight.  To me the panels resemble airport blast shields.

One of the first planes we see is the R-71A Blackbird.  What a cool plane!

The next plane is a Vought F4U-1D Corsair.  It's a cool plane; look at the dip in the wing just as it comes off of the fuselage.  The whole reason that was done was to allow ground clearance for the huge propeller.

By V-J Day (Victory in Japan Day), September 2, 1945, Corsair pilots had amassed an 11 to 1 kill ratio against enemy aircraft.  That means they took out eleven enemy planes for every one loss of an Allied plane.  Even Charles (Lucky Lindy) Lindbergh flew one of these in bombing missions against Japanese strongholds in the Pacific!

We have family connections to the Vought:  our sons paternal grandfather worked at LTV (Ling-Temco-Vought).  He also worked on (and received an award for) the planning of DFW airport.  He was a pilot and owned three airplanes at one point.  One of my favorite stories is about his getting a sewing machine for his birthday one year, so when their grandmother's birthday rolled around he bought her one of those three airplanes!  That's what happens when people stay married for decades ... :-)

I think their maternal grandfather also worked for LTV (back in the 1940's), but he was working at General Dynamics in Fort Worth when he met my mom.

The Kawanishi N1K2-Ja Shiden Kai (nicknamed by the Allies, "George") was the best Japanese naval fighter produced in quantity during World War II.  This is one of only three remaining today.

Notice the size of the wing ABOVE "George"!  I think it is the wing of the Enola Gay:

She is the actual airplane that delivered the atomic bomb over Japan ending World War II in the Pacific.